Paruppu Urundai Mor Kuzhambu

As authentic as authentic can be, this is by far one of the most traditional Tamil Brahmin dishes there can be. Mor Kuzhambu (recipe from an earlier post of mine) is a gravy made from buttermilk or sour yogurt. Sometimes, steamed lentil dumplings (paruppu urundai) are added to the gravy to give it some additional texture and taste. The dumplings can be mixed with rice and had in combination with the spiced yogurt gravy. These are like little South Indian koftas to include more protein in our vegetarian diets. 

My in-laws are visiting, so this space will see a splurge of more authentic Tam-Brahm dishes!

To prepare the paruppu urundais (as per my mother-in-law's recipe):

Ingredients (for 8 urundais)

1. 1/2 cup thoor dhal / thuvaram paruppu
2. 3 dried red chillies
3. 1/4 teaspoon hing
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt or more

Preparation

1. Wash the thoor dhal and soak it in water for 2 - 2.5 hours. 
2. Rinse the dhal well and grind it with red chillies, hing, and salt, with just a couple of sprinklings of water (about 1 -2 tablespoons of water or slightly more if absolutely necessary). 
3. Coarsely grind the dhal (as much as possible) so that you can form small chunks of balls/ irregular shaped dumplings with your hand. 
4. Steam the lentil dumplings for about 15 minutes on high heat in greased idli plates (greased with sesame oil) or a vegetable steamer until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
5. Slightly cool the dumplings before adding to the gravy

The steamed lentil dumplings - paruppu urundais

To prepare the mor kuzhambu with the dumplings (copy pasting most of the recipe from my previous post)

Ingredients:

1. 3/4  teaspoon coriander seeds
2. 1 teaspoon raw rice
3. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
4. 3 cups buttermilk or diluted yogurt that’s slightly sour
5. 2 tablespoons shredded/grated coconut
6. 1x1 inch piece of ginger roughly chopped
7. 2-3 green chillies or dried red chillies (depends on how spicy they are and how spicy you’d like)
8. 1 teaspoon turmeric
9. 2 teaspoons vegetable / olive oil
10. 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
11. ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida
12. a few curry leaves
13. ¾ teaspoon salt
14. the prepared paruppu urundais / dumplings

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in ¼ cup of water for 10 minutes.
2. Grind together the yogurt / buttermilk along with the coconut, the soaked coriander + rice + cumin seeds, ginger and green chillies. This forms the base of the gravy.
3. Transfer the ground mixture to a medium-sized saucepan, and add turmeric, and salt. Heat this on medium-heat for 5 minutes until the gravy heats through. 
4. Add the dumplings now. Heat on low-medium heat for 10 minutes or so until the gravy comes to one boil. If the gravy is too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it down and heat for an additional 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat. Do not over-boil the buttermilk or yogurt - it will curdle.
5. In a teaspoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds, add hing and a few curry leaves. Add this garnish to the Mor Kuzhambu. 

The more the paruppu urundais/dumplings soak in the mor kuzhambu the better it will taste. So the whole dish tastes better when it is well rested.